Longview Country Club: 100 Years of Hillside Golf

Longview Country Club has been testing golfers in the Pacific Northwest for over a century. The current 18-hole layout, designed by Francis "Frank" James and opened in 1927, sits on a natural hillside above the Columbia River valley. Douglas-firs and western red cedars line nearly every fairway. The views are real. The greens are small and fast. And a slope rating of 134 from the back tees tells you right away this place plays harder than the yardage suggests.

A Course Built With the City

Longview was a planned city, incorporated in 1923 and funded largely by timber baron Robert A. Long. The country club was part of that original vision, founded the same year the city was. Frank James, one of the most prolific golf architects in the Pacific Northwest, handled the design of the championship course. He drew on his philosophy that the greens define a great layout: small, sloping, and demanding. The back nine was added in 1958, completing the 18-hole routing that remains today. James designed around 40 courses across the region, and Longview stands as one of his more mature, well-preserved examples.

The Numbers

Four sets of tees give golfers a range of options:

• Blue (back): 6,170 yards, par 71, rating 76.0 / slope 134
• White (middle): 5,920 yards, par 71, rating 74.7 / slope 131
• Gold (forward): 5,489 yards, par 71, rating 72.4 / slope 125
• Red: 5,201 yards, par 71, rating 70.8 / slope 119

The slope numbers deserve attention. A 134 from 6,170 yards is steep. Many courses with that kind of slope stretch past 6,800 yards. At Longview, the difficulty comes from terrain and green complexity, not raw length. The fairways move with the hillside. Several approaches play uphill or across slope. The greens run fast and break sharply, which James intentionally built in.

What to Expect on the Course

The front nine opens with a par 5 that eases you in before the course tightens. Hole 6, a 375-yard par 4 from the blue tees, carries a stroke index of 2 for men and represents the kind of hole that defines this layout: not long, but unforgiving. You need to place your tee shot and then execute a precise approach to a green that will not hold a careless shot.

The par 3s scattered through both nines range from short to mid-length, with Hole 16 stretching out to 200 yards from the back. On tree-lined holes, distance control off the tee matters more than power. Wayward drives find trouble quickly in the Pacific Northwest rough and timber.

The back nine stretches out with Hole 11, a 505-yard par 5, offering one of the longer tests on the property. Annual bluegrass greens and bentgrass fairways are typical of the region, and the conditioning at Longview has earned consistent praise from members and guests alike.

The Facility

The clubhouse runs 28,000 square feet with a main dining room, grill, bar, lounge, wine room, and private dining. The pro shop is stocked and staffed. There is a swimming pool for warmer months. The club hosts a Men's Association, Women's Association, and junior programs, as well as reciprocal playing privileges with 24 other Pacific Northwest courses, which adds value for traveling golfers in the region.

Worth the Trip?

If you are driving through the Longview-Kelso corridor or spending time near the Columbia River, this course earns a detour. The combination of hillside terrain, mature timber, and Frank James's green design creates a course that plays more challenging than its scorecard implies. The 134 slope is not a fluke. Bring your short game and your patience for fast greens, and Longview will give you a genuine test of precision golf in a setting that does not feel like anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest.

You can view the full scorecard for Longview Country Club on Stymie, including hole-by-hole yardages and ratings from all four tee sets.